Posted by GarMan [ 216.13.136.38 ] on May 10, 2005 at 09:22:53:
In Reply to: The 400-Horsepower Club posted by Wayne Parham on May 04, 2005 at 21:01:56:
I thought we all believed that measurements don't tell the whole story? 
It's easy to fall in love with HP ratings, but it's not fair to use it to compare car to car. It's HP at the wheels, not the flywheel that counts. Put 400HP through a slushy automatic and you lose 30% to 35% of it. Add a 4WD drivetrain as some of these cars have and you end of with less than 200HP. Then you're pulling 5,000 lbs with it.
Me, I like my litte sports compact. Although it makes me curse everytime I go to Home Depot with it 'cus I'm limited to 6' lengths.
Also, when buying a car, instead of asking how fast does it go, I think more people should be asking how fast can it stop. Braking is way underrated.
One thing I'm very happy to see though is the return of rear-wheel drive. Yes, there's space and fuel inefficiency with this configuration, but nothing beats it in feel and performance.
gar.
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